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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732807">It starts at O'Keefe's</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whythehellnot0000/pseuds/Whythehellnot0000'>Whythehellnot0000</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Emily and JJ are gay for each other [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Criminal Minds (US TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Emily's first day at the BAU, Episode: s02e09 The Last Word, F/F, O'Keefe's Bar, One Night Stands, accidental meetings, hints at more to come</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 11:07:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,925</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25732807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whythehellnot0000/pseuds/Whythehellnot0000</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily is anxious to start work at the BAU, so she goes to a bar to drink off the stress. She didn't anticipate her one night stand being one of her co-workers.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Emily and JJ are gay for each other [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866595</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>74</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>It starts at O'Keefe's</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Being back in DC brought up strange emotions for Emily Prentiss. She had been abroad for so many years and undercover for many of those years and she was still trying to reconcile who she was outside of an assignment. Add that to the fact that the last time she visited DC was with her mother on a political trip when she was 14, right before they moved to Rome, and Emily was what she would consider a nervous wreck. The sights and sounds of the city, the wide, open streets, and the temporary relief from responsibilities meant that she was not as prepared as she would have liked to explore who Emily Prentiss was in her new life. </p><p>Her flight to Dulles arrived that morning and, due to her preparation, her new apartment was fully furnished by the end of the afternoon. The downside of her boy scout level preparedness was the empty hours. Emily was a hard worker, a fact she was proud of, but she was also a workaholic. She loved her job. She knew that her work made a difference and actually saved the lives of people around the world and, after growing up as the ambassador’s daughter, she knew that her choices and hard work could be clearly proven in every case she worked, not just because she could smooth over international tensions. Her biggest issue with caring so much for her job was when she had any amount of downtime she got antsy. Emily knew she was an asset, an important member of any team she joined, and this meant she also knew that when she wasn’t on a case there were times that she wasn’t using her skills which could cost lives. Even though she would start work in less than 36 hours, she could already feel the telling buzz under her skin that reminded her she was wasting valuable time. </p><p>Her first day at the BAU was on Monday and all she wanted was to dive head first into the next case so she could get out of her head but Saturday’s hours and the waiting were dragging her down, back into covers she would rather forget and people she wished she had never met. </p><p>She left for the bar earlier than she probably should have, considering how much she planned on drinking, but the pull to escape her thoughts was too strong to ignore. She had heard about this particular bar from an old Interpol colleague who told her that O’Keefe’s was the best bar closest to Quantico. She figured she would probably spend too much time there once she started work and decided that she could scope the building with her extra time. </p><p>Emily was two drinks in and had finally allowed herself to relax into the surprisingly welcoming environment of O’Keefe’s when someone finally caught her eye. The woman was blonde with a slight but athletic build and Emily could tell by the way she rebuffed the bartender’s advances that she could easily hold her own in a fight verbally and probably physically if the way she flexed her fingers despite her obvious disdain was any indication. Emily knew it was a bar full of agents so the likelihood that anyone could not defend themselves was slim but she was still impressed with the ease the blonde dismissed the man without frustrating him. Emily was familiar with the reaction men, especially drunk men, had when women turned them down in public. Disbelief and anger were always the first reaction and violence was not uncommon in her experience. The blonde knew how to deescalate the situation, validate the man’s feelings in his eyes, and reject him all while keeping a smile on her face. Emily was impressed. Her mother might even be impressed by some of those techniques. </p><p>The blonde woman suddenly turned to face Emily, eyes flicking over her before she raised one sculpted eyebrow. Emily gave her a playful smile in response. The blonde looked down blushing faintly before glancing back up at Emily who just nodded to the empty stool next to her. She tried to hide the self-satisfied smirk when the blonde got up from her seat and joined her. </p><p>***</p><p>Emily blinked wearily into the unfamiliar room. It was furnished and decorated with personal effects and homemade trinkets so she knew it wasn’t her own room. There was a photo of a blonde family on the dresser across the room, a familiar face smiling from the center of the image. She took a moment to take in the warmth and comfort of the bed before forcing herself to unwrap herself from the arms of the blonde woman. She got dressed quickly and, giving the room and the blonde a final once over, slipped out of the apartment, checking the door to make sure it was locked. </p><p>She felt a pang of disappointment as she made her way to the metro. The blonde woman, Emily hadn’t managed to catch her name, was intelligent and quick and drop dead gorgeous and Emily had never met anyone like her in her life. They had hit it off at O’Keefe’s and had tumbled into bed almost immediately. </p><p>She wishes she could commit to the other woman for more than a night but even that one night was risky. The release was worth it but she wouldn’t want to put someone else at risk for her. She couldn’t bring someone innocent into her world. The blonde seemed capable and mature but the familial notes in her room were enough to let Emily know that she was close to her family and the small pink, purple, and blue flag in a vase on her bookshelf told Emily that the trust went deeper than she could ever expect from her own family. The blonde had a strong support system. She probably still believed in true love and soulmates and that monsters under the bed were just ghost stories. Emily had lost those beliefs a long time ago. She knew better now. </p><p>The sun had risen and the metro was still empty in the Sunday morning lull. As she made her way back to her apartment, she knew that despite the early hour and lack of sleep, she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. She started work in 24 hours and her previous peace from her night out was beginning to desert her. It was a risky situation. Her paperwork had been rushed and she knew showing up without confirmation from the BAU’s unit chief not only risked her position in the future of the unit but also her standing in their eyes. She didn’t want to come across as rude or disrespectful but she belonged in the BAU. Her past made her more than qualified and she wouldn’t be content stuck behind a desk or in an environment that didn’t challenge her mentally. She had read about its origins and had followed their progress when she was in college at Yale. Due to more recent events, she hadn’t been able to follow their progress as much as she wanted.</p><p>After unlocking her door, Emily’s first stop was her coffeemaker. </p><p>The box she carried into Quantico was almost empty of personal items and security getting into the building must have been surprised. Inside were her papers, confirmation that her transfer from the small midwest office that she had apparently transferred from and the director’s signature noting that she was to work with the BAU. It wasn’t much but it was official. The director had accepted it so she was ready to work. </p><p>Meeting Aaron Hotchner, or reintroducing herself to Aaron Hotchner, was an exercise in maintaining a mask. Similar to the one she wore when she first met Aaron at one of her mother’s political parties, her laugh and smile were stiff and she fell back on her etiquette lessons. She knew her paperwork was less than convincing and that the BAU had not been given any notice at her appointment but she was confident that the director would ensure a relatively painless transition. </p><p>“What can I do for you?” That was the moment she knew the director had not bothered to inform the BAU of her arrival. Her heart sank. She knew she would get on the team but any confusion meant she would have at least another day of boredom. </p><p>Before she could get too lost in her disappointment there was a knock on the door. </p><p>“Oh, excuse me.” Emily turned to look at the interruption. That was her. The woman she had left in bed just the morning before. The blonde from O’Keefe’s. Afraid she was staring and that she might be recognized, she quickly turned back to face the Unit Chief. The rest of his words were drowned out by her thoughts. Distanly she could hear him dismissing her, politely telling her that she was wrong and that it was nice to see her again. She tried to follow him but she knew she would have to wait until the team returned. </p><p>She spent the rest of the day doing the homework that she should have done before joining the BAU. If she had put in the work before she would have known that the blonde from the bar was in fact a member of her– hopefully– future team. Now that she knew the other woman was on the team she decided to do a little more in depth research into the team now that there were more than just Gideon and Rossi running around. Emily gave a cursory glance at Morgan, Reid, and Gideon. She read more about Hotchner and his time in the Seattle field office. But the blonde. Emily discovered her name was Jennifer Jereau and went by JJ. She was composed and collected and the face of the BAU to the public. Emily researches another case that the team might take, and she writes her own preliminary profile for the case.</p><p>The case the team was currently working on came up in her search and Emily watched as JJ played the unsub like a flute. Emily knew that the press conference was serving some purpose for the team but from the outside she couldn’t tell what the angle was, only that JJ was the one in charge. It was beautiful.</p><p>The team got back to Quantico a few days later and Emily was there to meet them. She hoped that by showing Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner that she was dedicated to the BAU that her acceptance to the team was also forthcoming. Seeing JJ again was just a bonus. Emily waited in Hotchner’s office anxiously. She just hoped that she wouldn’t be sent away this time. </p><p>She delivered her preliminary profile quickly and efficiently and she felt good about it. Hotchner told her to get a desk and she pushed down her joy to a more work appropriate response. </p><p>When she left the building she saw JJ walking to her car. Emily sped up her walk to meet the blonde and JJ smiled when she noticed the other woman. </p><p>“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” JJ said, tone neutral. </p><p>“Well I hope I don’t disappoint you too much,” Emily joked but it sounded nervous to her own ears. </p><p>“I think we can work something out.” JJ smirked. “Why don’t you follow me home. I could use some take out and a glass of wine after that case if you would like to join me?”</p><p>“I’d like nothing better.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry if this one doesn't fit together well. I wrote most of it in January and wanted to finish it off. Lmk what you think!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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